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***Alchemist Kitsune*** · #**1023** March 4th, 2025, 08:10 PM

PATROLS ARE DUE MARCH 14TH BY 11:59 PM AST
If you need an extension, let me know a maximum of 3 days after the deadline.
If you need to be replaced, please have your character approach Lightningstorm with an in character excuse.
Herb patrols have a maximum of 5 herbs that can be carried per character; 8 herbs for those with The Collector purrk. Please make sure to provide a link to the post where your character gathered the herbs when handing them in or the patrol will be invalidated and your character will be punished.

To say that the day was warm was a downright lie. As far as the medicine cat was concerned, it was too damn cold any day of this stars forsaken season. However, hateful as she was of leaf-bare's eternally cold days and nights, Lightningstorm was also attentive. The snow was... not quite beginning to melt, but one could start seeing small sprouts of new life here and there. Newleaf was right around the corner, and it was clear the season was trying to make its presence known already. For this, the herbalist was more than grateful, her herb storage still useful but in desperate need of a refresh after the bitter leaf-bare moons.

| Hawkweed |
[ Twilight Falls ]
| Dewfrost [ @newo ] | Whiterabbit [ @nyme ] | Cardinalpaw [ @ollie_the_skeleton ] |

Exiting her den and rushing up on the roots of the Galewood to get a good view of the area, she called out to the clan in order to get their attention. Once she was certain she had it, she began calling individual cats. In truth, there would probably not be too many herbs to gather, but few herbs was much better than no herbs at all. Gaze falling upon a gray pelt, the herbalist's ears perked up, her voice ringing clear across the camp.

"Dewfrost. With the snow being somewhat less prevalent today, I would like you to head on out for the Twilight Falls and search for hawkweed. It's a yellow flower with numerous yellow petals. Looks a bit like a cross between a marigold and a coltsfoot with a bad fur day. Here. This one's dried up by now, but it should give you a good idea of what to look for," she mewed, dropping a dried hawkweed by the feline's paws so they could get a better look. "Take Whiterabbit and Cardinalpaw with you. I don't expect you to find too many of them late in leaf-bare, but there are some early croppers early on when the weather is right. Might as well take a few extra paws to help you carry more if you find enough."

| Chervil |
[ Sunset Grove ]
| Leopardsong [ @Moonraven ] | Berrystorm [ @kira ] | Emberpaw [ @Splashcloud ] |
"Leopardsong! Good day, love," Lightningstorm mewed as she took note of the pretty, spotted queen, twitching her tail in greeting as she approached her.

"Figured that today being an almost pleasant day for leaf-bare I could ask you for a favor in leading a small patrol to gather up some chervil? I have none on paw to show you, but I can describe it! I trust your attention to detail will hopefully procure the right herb," the herbalist mewed in earnest, her compliments for once an honest explanation of why she wanted the permanent queen going out on a herb run. She assumed a cat that had earned Twilightstar's trust in taking care of the kits of the clan as a permanent resident of the nursery had to have an eye to spot just about anything.

"It's a green leafed plant, with big, almost fernlike features. The scent should be very sweet, but if dug up to the roots you'll find that it gets a bit of a tangier scent that better matches it's taste. Normally I would want the roots, but so early in its growth season I would prefer just the leaves, if that's alright? Take Berrystorm and her apprentice, Emberpaw with you for carrying capacity to Sunset Grove. I trust that's where you'll have the best luck finding some, but let me know if they haven't sprouted yet. It'll be good information to keep track of in future."

| Mushrooms |
[ WindClan Territory ]
| Falconbeak [ @nyx ] | Vinesmoke [ @Tallstar ] | Shrikepaw [ @sleepyyjax ] |

Chervil taken care of, Lightningstorm turned her attention to a gray warrior with hard to read brown eyes. She had taken care of an injury of his not too long ago, but the torn claw had been a smaller matter, and she was keen to see how the tom could fare with a lighter patrol. There would be no need to strain the claw here, and he would probably not be bored to tears in his den with some work to do. He'd given her the feeling of not being the type to enjoy sitting around on his arse all day doing nothing, in any case. Giving his stance a small, assessing look as she approached with the herbs she carried to showcase to her patrols, she dropped her small bundle before him as she picked a mushroom to show him with a grin.

"'Ello there, Falconbeak. Been a long time since I've seen that chipper smile of yours," she mewed in a somewhat teasing voice before pointing at the mushroom. "Unfortunately, I'm here for business. The life of a medicine cat... never any time for pleasantries."

Lightningstorm sighed in mock melancholy, attempting to get a chuckle out of the brooding tom, although fully expecting to get no reaction for her troubles. Because of this, she continued without skipping a beat, not one to be let down by a tough crowd. If that had been the case, she wouldn't so much as be in the clan by this point in time. Stars knew WindClanners could be downright nasty to their own clanmates in the blink of an eye. Instead, she focused her attention on the mushroom once more.

"There were an awful lot of injuries over leaf-bare, and while the season isn't over... the twolegs are a real threat, and I would rather not go without if we take even worse hits from them. It's usually uncommon to find them while it's this cold, but that's why I want you to take Vinesmoke with you to the tunnels by the WindClan Territory. You shouldn't have to venture deep inside, as they tend to grow pretty close to the entrances, but they might be a little bit further within with how cold it's been these past few moons. Take Shrikepaw with you as well. It'll be good practice for him. Just because a cat ain't a tunneler it shouldn't be a reason for 'em to not know where the tunnel entrances are," the medicine cat mewed for explanation, waiting only a moment for any questions before heading off.

| Cobwebs |
[ Starry Meadows ]
| Warmsun [ @Desert Rain Frog ] | Mossystream [ @FlynnDaMan ] | Fernpaw [ @RomanticMangoBear ] |

"Warmsun!" Lightningstorm called, lapis hues meeting amber with a grin. "'Nother lovely warrior I wanted to see. I'm going to have to ask you to go to the Starry Meadows and bring any cobwebs you find there. Take your apprentice, Fernpaw with you. Mossystream too. I'm not running low, but... things as they are, I'd prefer to be overstocked, especially with something like cobwebs. I... trust I don't have to explain what those are?"

| Moss |
[ Whispering Wetlands ]
| Otterfur [ @sylvia26 ] | Hollysap [ @Beaan ] | Hawkpaw [ @Crown_Sage ] |

Lightningstorm's nose wrinkled in thought as she let go of the last patrol, her thoughts on the twolegs and the cryptic non-message she had received from the stars. Blood... and herbs... She had taken precautions already, asking for both mushrooms and cobwebs to staunch any potential horrendous injuries that might come from the encroachers, and yet she still wasn't satisfied. Patrols didn't return with the herbs she had asked often enough, and while normally she merely expected this, today she was a bit less eager to take this as a fact of life. WindClan had suffered many an injury during leaf-bare already, and it was only thanks to the drying methods she had learned and the careful collection of herbs she had taken during the moons prior to leaf-bare that her herb stores hadn't been entirely devastated by now. And yet... she didn't want them to get that way at all if she could avoid it. Perhaps a patrol for moss should be in order. The plant enjoyed the cold and the dark. It survived leaf-bare if one knew where to look.

"Otterfur," the lithe calico called, her mind made up as she spotted the brown tabby. "Take Hollysap and Hawkpaw with you to Whispering Wetlands and find some moss, please. The area by the border tends to have good moss when we get closer to leaf-bare. Just please, whatever you do, don't cross the border. It's the cold moons. Any leader would take any level of crossing as an act of war, especially with how tense things have been of late. If you can't find moss on our side of the border, then it can't be helped. I would rather you all three come back in one piece."

With an amicable enough smile, she waved the patrol goodbye, grateful that moss was so often used in every day clan life she didn't have to explain what she was sending out to obtain for once. Hopefully there would be good harvests from some of the patrols. It would be foolish to expect decent findings from everyone. At least before newleaf even graced the clans. But a she-cat could always dream that at least some herbs would get replenish before the snow melted away.